


Deep Cut

by purple_key_lime_pie_wedge



Category: Original Work
Genre: But Mostly Hurt, Dark, Fainting, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Modern Era, Self-Harm, Slavery, Starvation, Unreliable Narrator, but not willingly, her masters are trying but she's on a totally different wavelength than them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:53:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27237604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purple_key_lime_pie_wedge/pseuds/purple_key_lime_pie_wedge
Summary: A slave is purchased by a couple that may be kinder than previous owners, but she doesn't fully understand that yet.PLEASE read the tags.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	Deep Cut

**Author's Note:**

> So when people say "this came to me in a dream?" yeah this literally came to me in a dream last night and I had to get it out of my system. Summary at the bottom to avoid spoilers.
> 
> I decided to try my hands at something that's 1000 words. There is a lot going on that the slave doesn't fully understand due to past experiences, which is why the "unreliable narrator" tag comes in.

Her new mistress is angry. She’s only been in the house for fifteen minutes, and already she’s messed up somehow.

She had felt a small glimmer of hope when her new master bought her. His gaze was not dangerous or cruel as most other’s were. She had allowed herself to imagine, just for a moment, that he would not use her too harshly, that he would not want her to be in pain more than she deserved. During the car ride home, he had let her sit in the front, like a real person. And when he spoke to her, his word weren’t tinged with disgust.

“My wife works very hard,” he had explained, quietly, as if ashamed. “I’m an ER doctor - I work odd hours, so I don’t help as much as I should. And with numbers four and five on the way - we’re expecting twins - I thought it might be nice for her to have some help around the house.”

She had nearly wept in relief when she heard him say that. It sounded so safe, compared to previous masters. It sounded like a dream.

Now, all that carefully laid hope has been shaken. Her new mistress is angry. Worse, her master and her mistress are arguing over her, which means she will surely be in more pain than she already is by the end of the day.

She overhears bits and pieces of the argument, although she tries to tune it out - she knows masters don’t like eavesdropping. But she can pick up the gist: her mistress doesn’t _believe_ in slavery. Her master is trying to convince his wife to accept her as a gift, but her mistress thinks it would be immoral.

If only she could speak, she could get their attention, beg her mistress to keep her. She doesn’t need much food, so she wouldn’t cost too much. And she dreads the thought of returning to the auction house so soon after being sold, dreads the thought of ending up somewhere far worse than this.

But she cannot speak. She hasn’t been given permission.

Her only saving grace is that her master has not given up yet. He seems just as stubborn as his wife, although softer-spoken.

He reaches towards the kitchen table - still covered with dirty dishes, although it’s very late at night - and picks up a carving knife.

She feels her heart leap into her throat in fear, but he does not brandish it dangerously, threatening her or her mistress. She forces herself to focus on the conversation, fear of being punished for eavesdropping overwhelmed by fear of what her master might do to her with that knife.

“-not like it used to be,” her master is saying. “It’s more civilized now, just like indentured servitude. She helps around the house, she gets food and board, and you rest a bit! It’s not like if I told her to cut herself with this knife, she’d do it! There are laws in place, regulations to keep them safe.”

“Put that down!” her mistress snaps “You know what, let’s take a step outside, I feel suffocated in here. And I need to think.”

Her mistress storms away, her master following on her heel. And she feels as though she can’t breathe.

A test. That’s what this is. A test to see if she can follow orders. Her master thinks that she wouldn’t listen to him, follow his commands? She’ll have to prove that she can.

A sob catches in her throat as she stands from her kneeling position and walks towards the knife. She is rarely punished by having to cause herself harm - her masters enjoy doing that themselves. Perhaps she underestimated her master, perhaps having a master who isn’t cruel only means that he will not punish her himself; she will have to do it instead. She wishes she could object. She’s belonged to him for less than an hour total, how could she have messed up this badly? But, of course, she has caused her new mistress to be angry. And this is a test. Perhaps if she passes, they’ll keep her, and maybe she’ll get some of the food her master mentioned.

She picks it up, steeling her mind against the pain as she wipes it clean with a towel. Slowly, carefully, she cuts a line from the base of her left thumb to the bottom of her palm. The blood wells up as the pain sets in, and she walks towards the sink to make cleanup easier. The cut is shallow, shallower than it should be. That won’t do - she’ll be accused of impertinence. So she picks up the knife again, biting her lip as her head starts to spin. She will have to be quick.

The second cut is deep - too deep. She cannot prevent the strangled cry that emerges from her mouth, and the pain is too much to ignore. Dropping the knife in the sink, she sinks to her knees, squeezing her hand. It feels like fire has spread across her palm, and she distantly hears her master and her mistress rush into the kitchen.

Her master reacts first, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her hand, telling her mistress to get a first aid kit. She does not understand what is happening, and her mind is uncooperative. She hasn’t eaten in at least a day and is afraid that she will faint.

“Why did you do this?” her master asks, and her heart nearly stops - she’s failed. She’s failed the test and he’ll send her back.

She tries to think of a good answer, one that may just let her stay, but she doesn’t understand what she’s done wrong, and she feels like she’s floating away, so she says nothing. Thankfully, her master isn't angry. “I need to disinfect this before I can stitch it,” he says.

The disinfectant that he applies just compounds the pain she feels, and she finally gives up on consciousness, fainting.

**Author's Note:**

> So a slave is bought by a man who wants her to help around the house because his wife is expecting twins. Due to a misunderstanding, the slave thinks that she has been ordered to cut herself in order to be permitted to stay. She does so twice, and due to the cuts and her malnourishment, she faints. Her owners did not intend for this to happen and help her as soon as they find out.


End file.
